Mr. T
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois | death_date = | death_place = | resides = Chicago, Illinois | billed = Chicago, Illinois | trainer = Hulk Hogan | debut = 1985 | retired = 1994 }} Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud; May 21, 1952) is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler, most notably at the first two Wrestlemanias. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewellery, and his tough-guy image. In 2006 he starred in the reality show I Pity the Fool, shown on TV Land, the title of which comes from the catchphrase of his Lang character. Wrestling Mr. T entered the world of professional wrestling in 1985. He was Hulk Hogan's tag-team partner at the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) first WrestleMania which he won. Hulk Hogan wrote in his autobiography that Mr. T saved the main event of WrestleMania I between them and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff because when he arrived, security would not let his entourage into the building. Mr. T was ready to skip the show until Hogan personally talked him out of leaving. Piper has said that he and other fellow wrestlers disliked Mr. T because he was an actor and had never paid his dues as a professional wrestler. Remaining with the WWF, Mr. T became a special "WWF boxer" in light of his character in Rocky III. He took on "Cowboy" Bob Orton on the March 1, 1986 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, on NBC. This boxing stunt ultimately culminated in another boxing match against Roddy Piper at WrestleMania 2. Mr. T returned to the World Wrestling Federation as a special guest referee in 1987 as well as a special referee enforcer confronting such stars as the Honky Tonk Man. On July 21, 1989, Mr. T. made an appearance in World Class Championship Wrestling, seconding Kerry Von Erich. Five years later, Mr. T reappeared fist in Hogan's corner for his inaugural WCW match against Ric Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at WCW Bash at the Beach. Then again 3 mothns later he appeared as a special referee for a Hogan-Flair re-match, in October 1994, at WCW's Halloween Havoc, and then went on to wrestle again, defeating Kevin Sullivan at that year's Starrcade. Another seven years later Mr. T appeared in the front row of the November 19, 2001, episode of WWF Raw. He was inducted into the Celebrity Wing of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014. Personal life Mr. T is a born-again Christian. In 1987, he angered the residents of a Chicago suburb, Lake Forest, by cutting down more than a hundred oak trees on his estate. The incident is now referred to as The Lake Forest Chainsaw Massacre. He gave up virtually all his gold, one of his identifying marks, after helping with the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. He said, "As a Christian, when I saw other people lose their lives and lose their land and property...I felt that it would be a sin before God for me to continue wearing my gold. I felt it would be insensitive and disrespectful to the people who lost everything, so I stopped wearing my gold." Championships and accomplishments *'WWE' **WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2014) See also *List of Celebrity guest stars in wrestling External links * WWE.com Profile * Mr. T Profile at CAGEMATCH.net * * * Mohawk Media Mr. T site * TV Land's official I Pity The Fool page * Legendary TV's Mr. T profile * Mr. T discusses his Christian faith * Mr T. talks technology * Mr. T on a late 70s Local Chicago TV Show -- discussing being Leon Spinks bodyguard Category:1952 births Category:Celebrities Category:Actors Category:Managers and valets Category:1985 debuts Category:1994 retirements Category:World Championship Wrestling alumni Category:World Class Championship Wrestling alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:WWE Hall of Fame inductees Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:Living people Category:American wrestlers Category:Male wrestlers